Recipes as heirlooms; comfort food to share

I know… who has leftover cake? Does that exist? Let’s just pretend that it does. Willing suspension of disbelief, ok?

Because if you had leftover cake, you would just have to make these wonderful cake ball ‘truffles’. And then you’d have to eat them all, because wasting food is bad. I suppose you could share them with your Valentine, but I wouldn’t. I’d eat them myself. But that is because my husband doesn’t like white chocolate – his loss! More for me! In all seriousness, however, they do look very pretty packaged up in a little box, and they make a great homemade gift.

As my cousin Ethan put it, his mouth half full of cake truffle, “Little Debbie should make these.” I think it was a compliment. He does like Little Debbie. And these truffles are quite addictive. They aren’t technically truffles, they are really just balls of cake and frosting covered in white chocolate. But the surprising taste and texture makes for a double dessert experience in one bite.

Most often when I make cake ball truffles I do actually make and frost a cake. We enjoy the cake for dessert one night, and the next day I smash it all up and roll it into balls for the truffle centers. You can certainly skip right to the truffle making, but do be sure to let the cake cool completely before mashing with the frosting. And if, like Jeff, you don’t enjoy white chocolate, just use milk or dark chocolate for dipping instead.

A word here about the cake and frosting: You can make your own from the recipes suggested below or you can choose to go with the boxed and canned variety. But if you decide to split the difference, do me a favor and make the frosting. I have to admit a weakness for boxed cake mix. My grandmother passed her fascination on to me. But frosting in a can I can do without. Although store-bought frosting would probably make them taste all that much more like Little Debbie!

Crumble the cake into a large bowl. Using a large fork, mash the frosting into the cake until well combines. With your hands, roll the cake mixture into 1-inch balls. Arrange the cake balls on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Melt the white chocolate in 20 second bursts in the microwave or gently in a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Dip the cake balls in the chocolate, shake off the excess, and place on a clean piece of wax paper. Top with sprinkles. Let harden at room temperature. Store in a cool place in an airtight container for up to 3 days.